Method of preserving bivalves.



E. F. HULBERT.

METHOD OF PRESBRVING BIVALVBS.

APPLICATION nun) nov. 30, 1910.

989,154. Patented Apr. 11,1911;

awuc/wto'r, )[uler WWW/00% fl/(M v I Wx,

Fl"!!! WASHIMIWN D L UNITE STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWIN F. HULBERT, OF SOUTH NORWALK, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO SEALSHIIPTOYSTER SYSTEM, OF SOUTH NORWALK, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 11, 1911.

Application filed November 30, 1910. Serial No. 594,964.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWIN F. HULBERT, citizen of the United States,residing at South Norwalk, in the county of Fairfield and State ofConnecticut, have invented ce1= tain new and useful Improvements inMethods of Preserving Bivalves, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to methods for the preservation of oysters andother bivalves in the shell, by retaining the liquor in the shell andpreventing the shell from opening while the oysters, for instance, areexposed to air or rough handling during shipment, the bill of the shellbeing left uncovered and the breathing opening in no wise obstructed.

I am aware that heretofore various methods have been proposed to securethe same result that my invention is designed to attain, but so far as Iam aware, speaking from aetual experience and a knowledge of theconditions present in the handling of shell oys ters, each and every oneof the methods heretofore proposed have been to a certain degreedefective in some respects and have fallen short of complete fulfilmentof the objects sought for. For example, it has been proposed to apply tothe hinge end only of an oyster or similar shell fish, some hard settingsubstance, such as plaster mixed with cement, whereby to prevent theshell of the oyster from opening, while at the same time the breathingopening at the mouth is not obstructed, but this method just mentionedis open to the objection that no means are provided to insure theintegrity of the mass of hard setting substance, nor the impermeabilitythereof, and hence, owing to the usual rough handling of the oysters inthe shell, said material or substance has become broken and failed ofits purpose and has also deteriorated and fallen short of its desiredend, by being exposed to moisture and becoming permeated therewith.

With a knowledge of these conditions and the methods heretofore employedto accomplish the same result as my invention. my improved method hasfor its primary object to so coat the hinge end of the oysters or otherbivalves that the mass of hard setting material will be maintained withits density and impermeability unimpaired, While at the same time adistinctive feature is 'added to the oyster, whereby it may be at oncesegregated from the other untreated oysters, and to this end myinvention consists in the steps hereinafter specifically described andclaimed, reference being had to the following description andaccompanying drawing in which Figure 1 is a plan view of an oystertreated in accordance with my improved method of preservation and, Fig.2 is a longitudinal sectional view thereof.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the followingdescription and indicated in all the views of the accompanying drawingsby the same reference characters.

In carrying out my invention, I first apply to the hinge end only of theoyster, a predetermined amount of cementitious and hard settingsubstance 1 as a coating, the mass of this material filling the space atthe rear of the hinge which is provided by nature to permit the hingeaction of the shells in opening, and I next redip the coated end in abath of pigment, either before or after the coating has set. If before,the hard setting material will be more or less impregnated with thepigment which is preferably a water proof pigment; and if after, thepigment will serve as a protective coating 2 solely, and not both as aprotective coating and as an impregnating binder. In either event,however, the coating 2 will serve as a binder and protector and willinsure the integrity of the cementitious mass, the particles of the samebeing held together with tenacity and all danger of softening by theeffect of moisture or of cracking by rough usage will be precluded.Furthermore, if the pigment be of some distinctive color, in contrast tothe shell of the oyster, it is obvious that it will serve to distinguishthe oyster prepared and protected by this method from other ordinaryshell oysters.

It is to be understood that the pigment binder used may be any standardpaint from which some of the volatile matter. such as the oils anddrier, has been partially driven off by heating, leaving a somewhatpasty mass which is applied to the cement as a coating. The cement usedis a quick setting cement and therefore brittle, and the pig- As hasbeen indicated hereinbefore, I am aware that I am not the first to coatthe hinge end of an oyster, or an entire oyster with some hard settingsubstance, nor the first to conceive the broad idea of holding the shellof an oyster tightly closed to prevent the escape of the liquor from theshell, and hence I do not claim such idea broadly; but

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The herein'described method of preserving bivalves in the shell,which consists in applying to the hinge end only of the shell of thebivalve, a mass of hard setting material designed to prevent the shellsfrom opening and exposing the meat and permitting the liquor to escape,and also applying to said mass a pigment coating, adapted to preservethe integrity of the hard setting mass and to protect the same fromcracking.

2. The herein described method of preserving bivalves in the shell,which consists in applying to the hinge end only of the shell a mass ofhard setting material and in subsequently coating said mass with a waterproof pigment binder.

3. The herein described method of preserving bivalves in the shell,which consists in applying to the hinge end only of the ,shell, a massof hard setting material and coating said mass with a water proofbinder. In testimony whereof, I afliX my signature in presence of twoWitnesses.

EDWIN F. HULBERT. [1. s] Witnesses H. W. BISSELL, FRANK S. SMITH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, 'D. C.

